Convergence of education, science and practice in the field of tourism

The end of October-beginning of November in Lviv was marked by three important events in the tourism sphere of Ukraine, in which representatives of the National University of Bioresources and Nature Management of Ukraine took part. The invitation to a number of these significant events for the further development of tourism in Ukraine was received from the National Tourist Organization of Ukraine (NTOU), which became a member of NUBiP of Ukraine.

On October 31, 2018, the first  international scientific and practical conference “Sustainable development of tourism based on partnership: Education. Science. Practice” on November 2 within the framework of  the XVIII International Economic Forum  “Lviv region – a hub of opportunities!” a panel discussion “Role and place of tourism in the country’s economy” was held, jointly organized by the Lviv Regional State Administration and NTOU with the support of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)  . As part of these events, on November 1, 2018,  the second meeting of the Knowledge Network of NTOU (MZ NTOU) was held.

The international scientific and practical conference on the topic “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM ON THE BASIS OF PARTNERSHIP: EDUCATION, SCIENCE, PRACTICE”, which took place on October 31 – November 1, 2018, gathered more than 200 scientists and practitioners in the field of tourism from different parts of Ukraine, as well as Poland, Georgia , Azerbaijan, Moldova and Latvia. Organizers of the event – Ukrkoopspilka, National Tourism Organization of Ukraine, Lviv University of Trade and Economics, Poltava University of Economics and Trade, Wroclaw University of Economics (Poland), Warsaw University of Agriculture (Poland), Higher School of Management of Information Systems (Latvia), Cooperative and Trade University Moldova, Azerbaijan University of Cooperation, Shota Rustaveli Batumi State University (Georgia).

The work of the conference took place during the following plenary sessions: tourism as a component of sustainable development of the national economy; international experience of sustainable tourism development: trends and prospects; inclusive tourism: accessibility of recreation for persons with disabilities; the city brand as a synergy of government, business and community; development of tourist destinations of Ukraine: socio-cultural, economic, marketing and management aspects; actual problems of training specialists for tourism and the hospitality industry.

The scientific discussion at the sectional meetings of the conference took place in the following thematic directions: development of tourism and tourist destinations of Ukraine: marketing, management, financial, economic and regulatory and legal aspects; tourist trends: innovations and innovative technologies; global practice of sustainable development of tourism: trends and prospects; knowledge network in tourism: partnership of education, science and practice; application of digital technologies in tourism.

Based on the results of the conference, a collection of theses of the conference participants’ reports was published, which contains 104 scientific publications by 159 authors.

An important event for the higher education of Ukraine was the holding of the second meeting of the Knowledge Network of the National Tourism Organization of Ukraine (MZ NTOU) on November 1 at the Lviv University of Trade and Economics, in which representatives of NUBiP of Ukraine took an active part for the first time. The event was opened by the Rector of the University, Professor Petro Kutsyk and the President of the National Tourism Organization, the advisor to the First Vice Prime Minister – the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Ivan Liptuga.

To date, there are already 111 higher educational institutions in Ukraine specializing in tourism, hotel and restaurant business. The appearance in recent years of such a number of academic and scientific institutions in the field of tourism reflects the global trends of economic growth of the sector and requires systematic coordination, cooperation, consolidation and convergence between all organizations involved in the process of education and training of future personnel of the industry.

The Knowledge Network of NTOU is a permanent integrated body of NTOU, which is formed from full and associate members of NTOU, whose activities are related to education, professional training, scientific and practical research and innovations for exchange, joint generation, use and dissemination of knowledge in the field of tourism and resorts in order to form the future tourism sector of Ukraine.

The mission of the NTOU Knowledge Network is to connect theory with practice, to reduce the distance between those who generate knowledge in the tourism sector and those who apply this knowledge in practice.

Modern education should solve the problems of training specialists armed with knowledge of the methodology of an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, possessing the methods of synthesis of the subject part of various disciplines and subdisciplines, as well as possessing the necessary skills to bring scientific achievements to a commercial result and introduce innovations into the process of creating a product. This approach will provide conditions for the continuity of the qualification-competence process and the process of creative activity of a person, will make a qualitative transition from the training of a “specialist” to the free universal development and active self-realization of the individual’s holistic potential.

The event was attended by representatives of all leading universities of Ukraine that train specialists in the field of “tourism”.

The main tasks of the NTOU Knowledge Network are:

• Knowledge community interaction, knowledge generation, development of policies, strategies and programs in the field of tourism and resorts of Ukraine;

• Scientific and educational support of NTOU, its regional and branch institutions, through the exchange of knowledge, conducting research, analyzing strategic documents, conducting consultations and training, providing practical recommendations; 

• Improving the level of professional training of specialists in the tourism sector, training, retraining and advanced training of personnel;

• Development of universal training and retraining programs for personnel in the field of tourism, the hospitality industry, and related industries, taking into account the specialization and educational level of tourism personnel;

• Publication in printed and electronic formats of own methodological manuals, scientific and practical publications, analytical and expert conclusions, standards and educational materials in the field of tourism;

• Translation and publication of foreign professional publications, textbooks, reports, analytical materials, textbooks, standards, including publications of UNWTO, ETC and other international organizations;

• Collective protection of tourism as an interdisciplinary scientific direction and the creation of an effective three-level system of training of personnel with higher education in the field of tourism in Ukraine;

• Establishing cooperation with international educational networks (associations) of the educational profile. Provision of exchange of experience in the field of tourism education and development of joint projects;

• Consideration of draft standards, technical regulations, norms and rules harmonized with relevant international standards, other legislative and regulatory acts in the field of national tourism;

• Development of scientific-technical and financial-economic justifications for the implementation of activities in the field of tourism and forecasting the development of tourism infrastructure in the regions;

• Determination of priority directions and organization of scientific research with the aim of expanding the tourist and resort potential of the state and increasing the efficiency of its use;

• Conducting marketing research and providing analytical conclusions;

• Organization and holding of the annual all-Ukrainian competition of the best scientific research works and innovative projects with the nomination of the best for the UNWTO competition;

• Announcement of “Thematic Years” in the tourism sector with further research development of the theme and corresponding marketing promotion.

The decision of the Network of Knowledge of NTOU  declared 2019 the “Year of Quality and Excellence in Tourism” .

The last, third important event in the field of tourism, which took place in Lviv, was held on November 2 within the framework of the XVIII International Economic Forum “Lviv region – a hub of opportunities!” panel discussion “The role and place of tourism in the country’s economy”. The large-scale event was held with the support and personal participation  of the UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organization) coordinator  for relations with the participating countries – Beka Jackeli .

Regional tourism was discussed during the session, first deputy chairman of the Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism of the VRU Mykola Velichkovich, first deputy chairman of the Lviv Regional State Administration Rostyslav Zamlynskyi, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in Lviv Vyacheslav Voynarovskyi, coordinator of relations with members of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Beka Jekely, vice-president of the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism Ihor Torskyi, president of the National Tourism Organization of Ukraine Ivan Liptuga.

XVIII International Economic Forum “Lviv Oblast – Hub of Opportunities!” lasted for two days and brought together Ukrainian and foreign experts, politicians, diplomats, entrepreneurs, scientists.

“Lviv is ahead of many regions of Ukraine in terms of its level of services, the way it deals with its marketing and sustainable development. Lviv Oblast demonstrates not in words, but in practice, how to approach the relations and consolidation of all stakeholders and make the entire Lviv region an attractive destination for all types of tourism,” noted Ivan Liptuga.

Panel discussion participants (approximate number of 150):

● Carriers: airlines, transport companies;

● Service providers: travel companies, hotel and recreation complexes, SPA resorts and hotels, medical centers, rehabilitation centers, associations and clusters;

● Buyers (buyers): tourist operators, tourist mass media.

The event was also attended by tour operators from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Israel, Spain, Portugal, China, Ukraine, representatives of hotel-recreational and sanatorium-resort complexes of Lviv region, scientists, experts.

“The tourism business is on the rise, the indicators are the best in the last few decades, the growth was 6.5% last year. People travel the planet, despite wars, natural disasters and threats of terrorism,” noted the coordinator of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Beka Jackeli.

Therefore, there is a need to train qualified personnel and the task of NUBiP, as a leading higher educational institution of Ukraine, to take a worthy place in this necessary and promising business. 

Associate Professor of the Department of Agrarian Consulting and Tourism, NUBiP of Ukraine, Olena Lokutova